AsteriskNOW 1.7 Hits The Streets

AsteriskNOW is a quick and easy way to get started with Asterisk. It includes a basic Linux operating system, your choice of Asterisk 1.6.2 or 1.4, and optionally your choice of web-based graphical user interface (GUI). AsteriskNOW is the perfect starting point for anyone who wants to build an Asterisk-based communication system without the complexities of manually installing everything by hand.

To use AsteriskNOW, start by downloading the .iso image. To install, simply burn the image to a CD, drop the CD into the computer that you wish to transform into a phone system and boot from the disc. AsteriskNOW will ask you a few basic questions, then install itself. You’ll have a free phone system in less than 30 minutes. (Please note that it will erase the hard drive of the computer when it installs — be sure you’ve backed up anything you want to keep.)

If you’re already familiar with AsteriskNOW you might like to know about some of the improvements since the previous release. In 1.7.0 we’ve:

Added an installation menu to give you a choice of GUIs and Asterisk versions

AsteriskNOW can connect to your choice of internet telephony service providers, and can use Digium’s complete family of analog and digital telephony interface cards to connect to phones and phone lines.

AsteriskNOW Support

If you have questions or need pointers on using AsteriskNOW, check out the AsteriskNOW forums. If you’re building a production system and you need support, Digium offers technical assistance via support subscriptions for AsteriskNOW. Last but not least, if you run across an issue (a.k.a. bug) while using AsteriskNOW, please do us a favor and post it to the issue tracker: http://issues.asterisk.org (be sure to select the AsteriskNOW project).